It is known that photopolymerizable elements can be used in electrographic applications. Ingersoll U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,025, for example, relates to electrographic imaging. A photopolymerizable layer comprising a polymeric binder, an ethylenically unsaturated monomer, and a photoinitiator is imagewise exposed, the exposure creating polymerized areas of reduced conductivity. When the polymerized areas are corona charged ona conductive support and toned, a toner image is formed. Ingersoll states that multiple copies can be made and describes a procedure whereby the nonimage areas of the photopolymerized element are washed out with a solvent, the developed element is placed on an offset press and printing is accomplished by lithographic technique. Ingersoll, however, does not disclose transferring a toned image to another support.
In assignee's Riesenfeld Dessauer, Bindless, Blanchet, and Dubin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 56,303, filed Jun. 1, 1987 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,831 there is described an image transfer process using a photopolymerizable electrographic element wherein the photopolymerizable layer is imagewise exposed, the exposed areas are electrostatically charged while present on a conductive support and then toned by applying an oppositely charged electrostatic toner, and the toned image is transferred to another surface. Riesenfeld et al. process the photopolymer layer is imagewise exposed, charged and toned on the same side. As shown in FIG. 1 below, such a process results in a wrong reading image being obtained on transfer to a receptor support unless the image bearing film or phototool is so configured to provide a wrong reading latent image on the surface of the photopolymerized layer which upon transfer is inverted to form a correct reading image. The preparation of an image bearing film useful with prior photopolymer elements is time consuming, inconvenient and increases the cost due to the need to make an additional image bearing film. It is desired that high quality, high resolution correct reading images be obtained directly from toned electrographic photopolymerizable elements using conventional image bearing films such as target negatives. It is particularly desired that such correct reading images be obtained by using liquid electrostatic developers.